A copula-based chance-constrained waste management planning method: An application to the city of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.

UNLABELLED: This study proposes a copula-based chance-constrained waste management planning (CCWMP) method. The method can effectively reflect the interactions between random parameters of the waste management planning systems, and thus can help analyze the influences of their interactions on the entire systems. In particular, a joint distribution function is established using preestimated marginal distributions of random variables and an optimal copula selected from widely used Gaussian, Student's t, Clayton, Frank, Gumbel, and Ali-Mikhail-Haq copulas. Then a set of joint probabilistic constraints in the chance-constrained programming problems is converted into individual probabilistic constraints using the joint distribution function. Further, this method is applied to residential solid waste management in the city of Regina in Canada for demonstrating its applicability. Nine scenarios based on different joint and marginal probability levels are considered within a multiperiod and multizone context to effectively reflect dynamic, uncertain, and interactive characteristics of the solid waste management systems in the city. The results provide many decision alternatives under these scenarios, including cost-effective and environmentally friendly decision schemes. Moreover, the results indicate that even though the effect of the joint probability levels on the system costs is more significant than that of the marginal probability levels, the effect of marginal probability levels is notable, and there exists a trade-off between the total system cost and the constraint-violation risk. Therefore, the results obtained from the present study would be useful to support the city's long-term solid waste management planning and formulate local policies and regulation concerning the city's waste generation and management. IMPLICATIONS: The CCWMP method not only can solve chance-constrained problems with unknown probability distributions of random variables in the right-hand sides of constraints, but also can effectively reflect the interactions between the random parameters and thus help analyze the influences of their interactions on the entire systems. The results obtained through applying this method to the city of Regina in Canada can provide many decision alternatives under different joint probability levels and marginal probability levels, and would be useful to support the city's long-term solid waste management planning.

[Study on resurrection callus culture extract on the expression and mechanism of AQP-1 in Schwann cells after injury of the resurrection].

Objective:To investigate the mechanism of AQP1 in Schwann cells and repair effect of resurrection callus culture extract on hypoxic injury cells. Method:Being cultured for 24 h, the morphological changes of the cells with different concentrations of CoCl2 were observed under the microscope and the changes of AQP1 were detected by Western blotting. Then being cultured for 24 h, the cells with different concentrations of esurrection callus culture extract were detected by CCK-8. By selecting the best concentration of resurrection callus culture extract and CoCl2, the experiment has to be continued. The changes of AQP1 and HIF-1 alpha protein were detected by Western blotting in 7 days. Result:6 µl/ml CoCl2 was selected as the optimal concentration of hypoxia model, not only because of the obvious changes in cell morphology, but no significant inhibition of cell growth, and the highest expression of AQP1. The optimum concentration of 2.5 µl/ml resurrection callus culture extract could significantly promote cell proliferation. Schwann cells increased expression of AQP1 induced expression of HIF-1 alpha, and resurrection callus culture extract can reduce AQP1 and HIF-1 alpha. Conclusion:There was a significant correlation between the expression of AQP1 and peripheral nerve Schwann cell edema, the expression of AQP1 was induced by HIF-1 after cells hypoxia. The resurrection callus culture extract can significantly decrease the expression of AQP1 and to alleviate edema in Schwann cells.

[Lipoma of the pharyngeal opening auditory tube:a case report].

A young female complained left ear fullness for over three months. She has a history of tympanocentesis one year before. Nasal endoscopic inspection reported that left nose pharynx ministry is derived from the vegetations of eustachian tube. Pure tone audiometry found that the left ear took conductive deafness. We could see the reteacerd tympanic membrane with eardrum effusion by using of endotoscpe. Finally the nasal endoscopic surgery confirmed the excision of lesion of pharyngeal opening auditory tube.

Evaluation of remedial options for a benzene-contaminated site through a simulation-based fuzzy-MCDA approach.

A simulation-based fuzzy multi-criteria decision analysis (SFMCDA) method is developed for supporting the selection of remediation strategies for petroleum contaminated sites. SFMCDA integrates process modeling (using BIOPLUME III) and fuzzy ranking (based on fuzzy TOPSIS) into a general management framework, and can compare various remediation alternatives, in light of both cost-risk tradeoffs and uncertainty impacts. The proposed method is applied to a hypothetical contaminated site suffering from a benzene leakage problem. Six remediation alternatives are taken into consideration, including natural attenuation (NA), pump-and-treat (PAT), enhanced natural attenuation (ENA), and a number of their combinations. Six fuzzy criteria, including both cost and risk information, are used to compare different alternatives through fuzzy TOPSIS. The results demonstrates that the proposed method can help systematically analyze fuzzy inputs from contaminant transport modeling, cost implications and stakeholders' preferences, and provide useful ranking information covering a variety of decision-relevant remediation options for decision makers.

Bifidobacterium longum as a delivery system of TRAIL and endostatin cooperates with chemotherapeutic drugs to inhibit hypoxic tumor growth.

In our previous study, we have shown that vector pBV22210 containing a chloramphenicol resistance and a cryptic plasmid pMB1 from Bifidobacterium longum strain could stably replicate and did not significantly affect the biological characteristics of B. longum. In this study, B. longum was transfected by electroporation with pBV22210 encoding the extracellular domain of TRAIL (B. longum-pBV22210-TRAIL) and its carbohydrate fermentation and growth curve were determined, and its location and inhibitory effect on tumor xenografts in mice were also examined. The results further proved that gene transfection did not change the main biochemical characteristics of B. longum. The results also showed that B. longum-pBV22210-TRAIL resulted in selective location in tumors and exhibited a definite antitumor effect on S180 osteosarcoma. In addition, when a low dosage of Adriamycin (5 mg kg(-1)) or B. longum-pBV22210-endostatin was combined, the antitumor effect was significantly enhanced. The successful inhibition of S180 tumor growth suggested a stable vector in B. longum for transporting anticancer genes combined with low-dose chemotherapeutic drugs or other target genes is a promising approach in cancer gene therapy.